Chaos Dao Sheng Jue

After saying this, Ao Bing stood up and looked at the crumbling General's Mansion around him: "The Abyss of Reincarnation is digging into the deepest regrets and guilt in your heart. It wants to use these to break you down and make you sink into endless self-blame."

"Then what should I do?" Nezha asked, looking up.

“It’s simple.” Young Ao Bing stretched out his hand. “Forgive yourself.”

"Forgive...myself?"

"Yes. Forgive that impulsive seven-year-old child, forgive Nezha who killed without knowing the truth, forgive you who have lived in guilt all these years."

Young Ao Bing's eyes shone like stars. "Only by letting go of the past can we truly face the present and the future. Remember, my fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven."

Nezha stared blankly at the outstretched hand.

Yes, so many years have passed. He thought he had let go long ago, but only now did he realize that the guilt had been buried deep in his heart, like a thorn that would prick him from time to time.

Since his lotus transformation, has his playful laughter and angry outbursts truly been a sign of his carefree nature? Or is he using his flamboyance to mask the emptiness within?

“I…” Nezha took a deep breath and slowly stretched out his hand.

Just as their hands were about to clasp together in mid-air, the figure of the young Ao Bing began to become transparent.

“The time has come.” He smiled. “Remember, I am not the real Ao Bing. I am just a shadow in your heart. The real Ao Bing may have already been reincarnated, or he may be doing well somewhere. And you, it’s time to move forward.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished completely.

The scene of the General's Mansion also vanished at the same time.

Nezha found himself standing in that chaotic space again, but this time, the surroundings were no longer dark, but soft white light.

His body returned to its original form—a youthful form, with the three-headed, six-armed Dharma image naturally manifesting, but no longer in its previous berserk state, instead exuding a calm and harmonious aura.

The most obvious change is in one of the six arms; the arm that was originally holding the phantom of the Fire-Tipped Spear is now slowly solidifying. Although it is still a long way from being fully materialized, this is already a qualitative leap.

“So that’s how it is…” Nezha murmured, “Let go of your obsessions, see your true nature, and the Dharma form will naturally solidify.”

He looked around, and countless points of light appeared in the white light, each a fragment of memory. But now, looking at these fragments, his heart was no longer stirred.

Because he understood that the past cannot be changed, but the future can be chosen.

"It's time to go back." With a thought, Nezha's consciousness began to leave this space.

Just as he was about to depart completely, a voice, ethereal and distant, came from the depths of the white light:

"Congratulations on passing the test. Reincarnation reflects your heart, revealing your true self. I bestow upon you a wisp of the Daoist essence of 'Undying Battle Spirit,' hoping you... will make good use of it."

A golden ray of light descended from the sky and entered Nezha's brow.

In an instant, he felt his fighting spirit, will, and even the core of his Dharma body undergo a kind of essential sublimation. It was not an increase in power, but a qualitative transformation.

Like refined steel, it has finally been tempered to remove the last trace of impurity.

In the real world, Nezha suddenly opened his eyes!

A flash of golden light appeared in his eyes and disappeared.

Nezha sat up and found himself still at the entrance of the Abyss of Reincarnation, but Lu Chen and Fang Xinyi had disappeared.

"Where are they?" Nezha muttered to himself, his voice a little hoarse.

At this moment, Nezha suddenly remembered that he had spat out his primordial blood to help Lu Chen open the stone gate.

"Fang Xinyi is really not nice. She actually left me here all alone. Isn't she afraid that I'm in danger?" Nezha complained.

He then looked at the stone gate in front of him, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit: "I have to go in and take a look too. I can't let those two steal all the limelight."

Next, Nezha arrived at the stone gate and tried to push it. Sure enough, the stone gate did not budge, and a powerful barrier of spacetime laws flowed across its surface.

"What should we do? We can't just sit here and wait, can we?"

After several attempts, Nezha still couldn't open the stone door. Although he was unwilling, he could only sit cross-legged and begin to consolidate his insights from the breakthrough.

On the other side of the stone gate, Lu Chen and Fang Xinyi were standing at the edge of the altar, looking up at the huge skeletons and the central groove.

Unbeknownst to them, as Nezha undergoes the test of his inner demons, the altar, which has been silent for countless years, begins to undergo subtle changes because of their arrival.

Deep within the altar, something... is awakening.

Just as Lu Chen and Fang Xinyi were looking around, Fang Xinyi's originally clear eyes suddenly became cloudy and empty.

She stood motionless at the edge of the altar, her consciousness seemingly sinking into a warm sea.

At first, the sound was indistinct and intermittent, as if it were coming from across a distant body of water. Then the sound gradually became clearer:

"...Miss, let's go!"

"Activate the grand formation! Protect the Holy Maiden!"

"For the sake of our people...for the sake of the future..."

Those were the voices of our people. Old and young, men and women, mingled together, filled with resolute determination and tragic grandeur.

Fang Xinyi tried to open her eyes, but found she couldn't. She felt as if she were bound by an invisible force.

Through her blurred vision, she saw a battlefield ablaze with flames.

The sky was shattered, with countless burning meteorites falling from the cracks. In the void, people dressed in moon-white battle robes were fighting against some twisted, shapeless black shadows.

Those shadowy figures had no fixed form; sometimes they were like mist, sometimes like beasts, and each attack would take the life of a member of their tribe.

“Mother…” Fang Xinyi cried out.

Her mother turned and looked at Fang Xinyi, her eyes full of tenderness and reluctance: "Ayi, don't be afraid. Close your eyes, it will be over soon."

A silver crescent-shaped mark adorned the woman's forehead, radiating a soft glow. This light enveloped Fang Xinyi, separating her from the cruel world outside.

"But...where is Father? Where is Grandpa?" Fang Xinyi struggled to turn around and look.

“We’ve all been deceived. The Immortal Realm is a complete hoax.” The mother’s voice was soft, but carried an undeniable firmness. “So you must live on.”

Just then, the high priest came to Fang Xinyi. His face was pale, and he was obviously seriously injured. He then offered up a jade coffin.

Then, the high priest waved his hand, and Fang Xinyi fainted, before being placed in a jade coffin. He then chanted ancient incantations. Blood was flowing from all seven orifices, clearly indicating that he had exhausted his life force.

If Lu Chen were here, he would definitely recognize that coffin, because it was the very same coffin that Lu Chen had discovered back then.

The last thing Fang Xinyi saw was her mother and her people's bodies gradually becoming transparent, turning into countless points of light and merging into the void, while the dark shadows had broken through the defenses and surged in like a tide...

Then, darkness fell.

I don't know how much time passed.

It could be a fleeting moment, or it could be an eternity…